It was past midnight (Eastern Time) on Friday night, and NC Courage head coach Mak Lind sounded like he was having an existential crisis after the team’s fifth loss in six contests.
“[It was] a big game and big points. [I feel] a little bit empty right now,” said Lind. “I’m trying to just gather my thoughts. We have one more game to play. It’s not really in our hands and [we don’t] control the outcome … but we still have a chance, and when there is a chance, there is hope.”
It was the first time in 15 matches the Lioness had gone scoreless.
Though they weren’t eliminated from contention, his 9th place NC Courage (13-13-3, 42 Points) had just lost control of their playoff destiny after a 1-0 loss in Oregon to the 6th place Portland Timbers (13-8-8, 47 Points). It was a big shift from before the international break, when the Courage looked like they were on the way to the playoffs.
Defender Ryan Williams, the Courage’s longest-tenured player, acknowledged that the team felt like they lost a playoff berth that felt like a sure thing.
“I think that this was in our hands, and now I think that it’s not, right?” said Williams. “We obviously need to win next game, but I don’t like the mentality of feeling sorry for ourselves, so I think from here, and it goes back to accountability and ownership, this was in our hands, and now it’s not, and we can still do everything that we can do, but we need to put this game behind us, and we need to look at the film and see what we can do better and look to improve, just like we’ve done [this whole season].”
The Courage host Denver Summit at 5:00 PM on Sunday, November 1 in the final match of the regular season.
“I think now when it comes to this last game and the preparation before [the] last game, it’s going to be important that we give ourselves the chance to prepare well and do our job,” said Lind. “And that means perform and win the game against Denver.”
A Narrow Playoff Clinching Scenario
The loss sets up a complicated clinching scenario for the Courage going into the final match of the NWSL season. To have any chance of making the playoffs, they must win at home against Denver Summit (11-10-8, 41 Points) and reach a season total of 45 points. Then, the Seattle Reign (13-11-5, 44 Points) must lose or draw against the Orlando Pride, who are eliminated from playoff contention.
“Again, it’s not in our hands,” said Lind. “Hopefully we get some help with other results. So that’s kind of the focus.”
The Decision Day match against Denver may be an uphill battle for the Courage. While the Lioness defeated Denver 2–0 on August 5 at Centennial Stadium, Denver are also playing for a very narrow playoff chance (Seattle must lose and Denver must win).
Along with Seattle’s match, the two fixtures will be the only ones on the Decision Day calendar that determine whether or not a team makes the playoffs. On both coasts, the Courage will hope Sunday is a good day for lions.
“I think that we’ve been good about growing each game in different ways,” said Williams. “So I think that’s what we need to do, just look forward.”
One Match Left for Sanchez
Ascent Draw in Florida
Fort Lauderdale United 0, Carolina Ascent 0
The Carolina Ascent (7-1-2, 23 Points) had an uncharacteristic draw away at Fort Lauderdale United FC (2-7-1, 7 Points) on Thursday, October 22, but other results across the USL Super League put the Ascent in position to clinch a playoff berth this weekend.
Though goalkeeper Sydney Martinez kept a clean sheet for the third match in a row - her seventh shutout of the season - the Ascent couldn’t find the back of the next despite leading in shots (16 to 5) and shots on target (5 to 2).
According to Ascent midfielder Audrey Coleman, the difference between a scoreless match and making shots was a minuscule amount of focus.
“We just need to be more clinical in those moments,” said Coleman. “We created such great attacking moments and then it just takes that extra 1% focus of finishing it off into a goal.”
What was even more striking was the disparity in the first half, as the Ascent dominated corner kicks (11 to 0) and shots (13 to 2). Ascent head coach Philip Poole acknowledged his side’s inability to finish good chances, a common thread in his post-match press conferences this year.
“A very, very dominant first half. One where we know we’ve got to finish several of those chances,” said Poole. “Credit to Fort Lauderdale, they hung in there and made a couple of adjustments in the second half. I still think we had three or four very good chances in the second half. But at this stage of the season, a point on the road is one that we’ll take and move on.”
Also noteworthy: youth international B Hylton got her first significant minutes since playing in the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, coming in for Shea Groom - who was on a yellow - at halftime.
“We want to make sure we manage people’s yellows and cautions at this stage of the season,” said Poole. “B has been playing really well, and B was looking for a chance, so it gave us the opportunity to give her that chance she’s deserved. I thought we had our moments, certainly early in the second half, but B seemed to get in a groove and started to connect passes. So yeah, good experience and important minutes for B.”
Playoff Clinching Scenarios
The Ascent are still in first place with 23 points, 8 points ahead of second place Sporting JAX with four matches remaining. They can clinch a playoff berth this weekend under multiple scenarios, but the most straightforward one is if the Ascent win. Win and they’re in.